Stephens Initiates Coverage on Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD)

Stock analysts at Stephens started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 15.73% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on SFD. Bank of America lowered their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $19.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.87. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.81 and a 52 week high of $29.81. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09 and a beta of -0.51.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,656,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 2,584.3% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 351,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,517,000 after purchasing an additional 337,977 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $157,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 136.4% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 144.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 112,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 66,519 shares during the last quarter.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a vertically integrated food company focused on pork production and packaged meats. Its operations include raising livestock, processing and packaging pork, and distributing fresh pork and prepared foods. The company’s products include bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, lunch meats, fresh pork cuts and other refrigerated and shelf-stable meat products.

Smithfield markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Nathan’s Famous and Healthy Ones, as well as private-label offerings for retailers and food-service customers.